It is known that a rotating body such as the rotor of a centrifuge rotates about an axis through the center of gravity of the rotating body. When the loading of the centrifuge rotor is improper, it sometimes changes the center of gravity of the rotor resulting in an axis of rotation not passing directly through the volumetric center of the rotor. For the purpose of limiting damage to the centrifuge, imbalance detectors are incorporated in the design of the centrifuge to de-energize the motor which drives the rotor.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,895,023, Blum, describes a rotor imbalance detector in which rotor imbalance causes a movable rod to be thrown out, actuating a microswitch which is mounted beneath the rotor. The microswitch causes the motor to be de-energized. After the operator has corrected the imbalance, the imbalance detector must be reset. The Blum design also makes the centrifuge more complex and costly to produce.
The imbalance detector described by U.S. Pat. No. 3,699,287, Stahl et al., must also be reset following imbalance. Actuating means such as a screw is mounted to the rotor itself. When the rotor becomes imbalanced, the actuating means trips a switch adjacent to the periphery of the rotor where the actuating means is carried, causing the motor driving the rotor to be de-energized.
Drucker et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,676,723, mounts a tubular member to the motor frame of the centrifuge which is electrically connected into a motor de-energizing circuit. When the rotor and spindle become imbalanced, a tubular contact means, mounted on the spindle, in coaxial relationship therewith, contacts the tubular member, thereby shorting out the circuit, causing the motor to de-energize. The tubular contact means is mounted on and rotatably spinning with the drive spindle. Thus contact of the tubular contact means with the tubular member, which is fixed to the motor frame, may impart a rotational force to the tubular member. Since the tubular member is fixed and cannot rotate, the tubular member may be damaged as a result of its inability to rotate, thereby disrupting its electrical connection with the electrical lead to the motor de-energizing circuitry.